IvySpice

I wonder if Brandan just planned to live off the books, working on the family farm. I can't believe that the Phillippines would have meaningful immigration enforcement in a poor rural area, especially if the undocumented person wasn't taking a job or committing crimes. This is the opposite -- he poured money into the community by funding the house construction. So I don't know how much he needs to worry about Filipino ICE coming to get him. Yep. Hope you're digging it, Brandan! Poor Daughter Sherika. Even if the whole relationship was orchestrated by the show, it must be humiliating when your friends see your mom making such a fool of herself on TV. The purpose of hooking up with a Turkish meathead you barely know is to show your daughter what a healthy relationship looks like? Riiiight. Please go home ASAP, Kimberly. It's better for everyone involved.

Oh, all of a sudden the judges decided Rami's puckering and wrinkles matter? This week they merit the death penalty, when last week they were no barrier to the win? Rami is a class act. Really a delightful human being, and sexy too IMHO. But he didn't do great work this season, and especially not in the last two weeks. These are veterans; they should have some idea what they can execute decently in the given time and what they can't. Brittany has grown on me with her consistent positive attitude toward everyone. I appreciate it when the designers have a recognizable signature, and athleisure is as valid a genre as evening wear.

It was quite a display, wasn't it? If we had any doubts about his character, he dispelled them all in one go. He really thought that scene was going to help him score points over Janelle with the audience! Flouncing out of the place like a 12-year-old girl. Well, if the goal is to force Janelle to bail with no regrets, he got the job done.

Thank you! Even if it hadn't been a puckered, wrinkly mess, the heavy, thick, body-hiding design was for a 75-year-old bride, not for Harry Styles peacocking on the red carpet.

They do, but that doesn't mean it makes sense to walk away from an existing small business and start over in middle age. He has no connections in the U.S., no apprenticeship here, no union card, no reason to think he can outcompete the plumbers here.

These people. Mary even cries like a toddler. She won't throw him a bone and say she'll trust him. Hysteria or not, she knows he's stuck, and she wants to establish now that he doesn't get to have any expectations for HER whatsoever. The scene with Shekina and her French ex was obviously staged, but I can believe that she chooses controlling, abusive men. Yep, that tracks. Apparently she and her friends single-handedly keep LA's plastic surgeons in business. Or maybe just the tacky ones. Holly was walking the streets of Johannesburg BAREFOOT? How is that even a thing? And then she's like, maybe I should wear shoes, I could step on a needle. YA THINK?

Which Brown family member was doing this?

Not sure I agree. What percentage of people who finish stage 1 have won the million dollars? Is it as high as 1%? It's a remote possibility. In contrast, a great clip for social media has a known value. Going after the somersault video is a better financial bet.

Yes, I agree that many people do make this mistake. It's never reasonable, and in my experience, lots of other people (like Brandan's family) can see what's going on and warn the abused partner, who refuses to take their advice. Which makes it hard for me to have much pity on that person when they boo-hoo ten years into the marriage about how they got stuck because the abuser was so charming at the beginning. By "charming" they mean this controlling crap that everyone around them could see right through. Other people warned you not to stick your hand into a running lawnmower, but you did it anyway. Poor you.

So Brandan, it looks to me like Mary has a condition called Borderline Personality Disorder. The extreme emotional neediness? The constant tears? The instantaneous rage when she said "Then go find someone else!" The part where she makes her problems your responsibility ("What do you want me to do?")? This is a lifelong situation. Even treatment from a psychiatrist isn't that effective, and you as her partner can't treat it at all. Either you like the relationship the way it is right now (which would mean you're as sick as she is), or you have to leave. Adding vulnerable children will only make things worse. It will never get better.

Yeah, why is it Janelle's job to negotiate his relationship with his adult children? There's no suggestion that the sons were acting at their mom's behest. They were doing what they wanted to do. If Kody has a problem with that, he should do some parenting and discuss it with his kids.

Greasy hair vs. washed? Korto was sent home for giving the judges lip. Fair enough on both sides -- she can say what she thinks, they can choose to keep designers who respect their authoritah. I came in 100% on the side of OG designers, especially a snarky black woman with so much ethnic expression in her work, but even I was losing patience with her this season. Yeah, the judging is crummy -- it's a reality show. If you can't live with that, it's not the right place for you. Laurence's work looked super pink on my TV. It never crossed my mind that it was actually red. Speaking of Laurence, her design would have been impossible with a plus model, so that really drove home the disadvantage of using one. Of course it is possible to make gorgeous clothes for a heavier model, but it takes a lot of options off the table, and that's a disadvantage. I hate that about the way the show hires models now.

I gave up on this show several seasons ago, and have only been following it via this forum. But I am HERE FOR watching the slow meltdown and Kody's helpless rage! Christine radiating joy gave me life. I'm looking forward to each and every separation, even Meri's. What could be more entertaining than to watch women being happy and Kody being sad? In fall 2021, anyone who wanted to be vaccinated had access. I was super covid cautious myself, but I have zero patience with anyone who claims to be so worried but won't get the shot. That says "This is an excuse to control and judge other people" more than it says "I want to avoid this pathogen."

I think that's right, but I don't understand what's motivating him. Finding a love match in India would be one tenth as much trouble for him. If his parents agreed to a Christian white girl, they'll agree to anything. Why does it have to be Kimberly? Is he just into drama? Is she a weapon for attacking his parents and brother? Does he think he'll be able to control her in a way that he can't control an Indian girl? (If so, that's nuts -- even after they're married, she can still run back home if she wants to.) So wtf? Wayne put all his money into crypto? 🙄 There's a real brain trust in that house.

Was that a...a mature adult conversation between TJ and Kim at the beginning of the episode? Where they calmly looked back at their fight and discussed ways they could do better in the future? For a minute, I was unsure what show I was watching. Then TJ did his interview where he explained that he was deliberately hiding the truth about Kim's subservient role in the family, and I was right back in the arms of a 90 Day episode. I shouldn't be surprised, but couldn't help feeling surprised, when I saw Brandan comforting MARY and apologizing to MARY when her lies and hypocrisy were exposed. Because that's just how it works in an abusive relationship. BTW, are they going to acknowledge the ambiguous sexuality of at least one of Mary's buddies? Granted, cross-cultural gaydar is a fool's game, but I don't think Brandan needs to worry that Mary is cheating on him with the blond. FFing Daniele and Yohan as usual. I can't pretend to care.

Yeah, that sounded like it was scripted by somebody else. This entire friendship -- I can't call it a relationship -- is bizarre.

I can't believe I'm defending these parents, but one little ray of light is that they do seem to let the kids pick some of their activities. For show purposes, it would be much better to have five little ballerinas rather than four. But Riley wanted to do soccer instead of dance, so they didn't make her do dance. This was either not a very rigorous dancing school, or this ensemble is for the remedial 7-year-olds. I've seen 7-year-old groups do WAY better than what we saw. That was kindergarten level at best. I'm glad they're learning to confront stage fright, because they sure aren't learning to dance.

I hate both Kimberly and TJ, but he's on his own turf, surrounded by his friends and family, so I'm a lot less patient with his failings. It looks like the truth is dawning on Kirsten, so hopefully she'll get away from this whole fiasco with a few extra bucks and a minor bruise to her dignity. There are lots of things to love about America, but if I were Dutch, I wouldn't be interested in moving here, either. Definitely not if I were following a man-child like Julio.

I didn't enjoy the new format at all. Part of what I've loved about ANW is the fact that you can root for everyone: it's the competitor vs. the course, with ever more impossible-looking obstacles every year. Who thought that it would improve the show to watch people attack the same old obstacles faster and faster? Why should you get to go to Vegas automatically if you have a crummy semifinal run and your partner happened to fall in the water a little before you did? I want to see the best players go to Vegas, not just the ones who got a lucky draw. I'll still watch, but I hope they don't stick with this. It's much less compelling than the old system. That said, Lebsack winning the safety pass: UNREAL. I couldn't run alongside the course and keep up with him!

Boy, they really outdid themselves in the casting this year, didn't they? Brandan basically needs to try the Costanza approach to life: whatever you think is the right decision, Brandan, doing the opposite will be the right answer. Sheesh. Who on earth could think it's a wise decision to take off for the Philippines to be with an abuser, with no way of getting home?

I have a million and one complaints about the parenting in this family, but encouraging kids to keep going through whatever is causing them anxiety is the right move IMHO. When Ava was crying before the recital, she got hugs from the other little dancers, but when the time came she went on stage and did it. Kids can do scary things.

I must have watched this episode when it first aired, but I guess I blocked it out. My DVR thought the one-hour version was a new episode, and when I tried to watch...NOPE NOPE NOPE. There are certain kinds of squalor I can't handle, or can't handle any more. You could smell this episode through the screen. Ten seconds was too many.

I can overlook the moments of implausibility in most of the episodes because the series does such a great job job with actors/characters and with depicting the spirit of different kitchens. Including, this season, home kitchens.

SO not interested in seeing Dr. Lee get a facial from her BFF. I like this show, but there's only so far they can push me with stupid commercials masquerading as content. You can't tell me there's a shortage of Americans needing free dermatology treatment.

I don't mind hearing the producer's questions. The alternative to letting us hear the question is to force Dr. Lee to repeat herself without reference to it, so that the information can stand alone, as though she said it spontaneously. That can seem fake/forced, too. I often have questions for Dr. Lee, and the producer can stand in for me. I'd love to learn more about the science/medicine rather than the canned conversations between the patient and spouse about how they don't want to wear the blouse that reveals the rash. (Like the rest of you, I'm FFing those at this point.) I feel like the producer questions are more conducive to sharing medical info. I acknowledge, though, that I'm a science nerd, and most of the audience for this show probably doesn't want it to move in a PBS direction.